can be very sad. Here, as well as in India.” He turned away. “Let’s say our prayers, then we have the night all to ourselves.”
Janya had prepared a puja room in what was meant to be a coat closet in the living room. Hindu homes usually had a special room set aside for worship, and this, even though modest, was theirs. She opened the doors and together they went through the familiar rituals with a statue of Krishna watching over them. She ended by placing several pink hibiscus flowers at Krishna’s feet. Later she would use one to snuff out the flame she had kindled in the oil lamp on the puja tray.
“Someday we will do this with our children beside us,” she said when they had finished.
Rishi looked uncomfortable. “Someday, yes.”
She ushered him to the sofa, turned on the music, which she had paused while they worshipped, and joined him for a glass of juice.
“Tell me about your day,” she said after a sip. “Did you have a good one?”
He still seemed tense, even after prayers, but he relaxed as they chatted. By the time she told him to take a seat at the dinner table, he seemed more like himself. He ate the dinner with relish, took seconds of everything and complimented her lavishly. She had heard stories of ungrateful, critical husbands from friends she had grown up with, and Janya knew how lucky she was.
“What would you like to do this evening?” he asked, after he had helped her clear away the dishes.
She wondered how she could have signaled her intentions any more clearly. Her lovely blouse was cut low between her breasts and bared her shoulders. Her scented hair was down, the way Rishi liked it best. As they cleaned the kitchen she’d stood close to him, resting her hip intimately against his, turning when she could to lightly brush his arm with her breasts. From their CD player a man with a gravelly voice was explaining that a woman decorated his life. She hoped her husband was listening.
Still, she had prepared for this, just in case. “I thought we might watch a DVD.” She smiled softly, her gaze lingering on his lips. “Unless you have something else you’d prefer?”
“No, that sounds perfect. I’m too tired even to take a walk.”
She hoped the movie would energize him for what she had in mind.
“What DVD is it?” he asked.
“Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love,” she said innocently. “Have you perhaps seen it already?”
Rishi looked uncomfortable. “No, I don’t think so.”
“I believe you would remember. The director is famous, and the story is supposed to be quite touching. I have heard wonderful things about this film.” She didn’t add that she had also heard Kama Sutra was one of the most beautifully sensuous films ever made in India. She turned off Wanda’s CD, which had played and replayed several times by now. Then she turned down the lights, turned on the DVD player and settled beside him on the sofa, her hand resting lightly on his thigh.
She was not surprised when half an hour later, Rishi had his arm gripped convulsively around her. Her own fingers were locked into place, digging deeper in his flesh. Half an hour after that, she was afraid Rishi might hyperventilate. The film was gorgeous, the most sensuous tale she had ever encountered. She had almost forgotten her real reason for putting it on. Now she was less concerned about making a baby and more concerned about simply getting her husband into the bedroom. She had bought the movie online. The rest of the story would keep for another night, hopefully when, once again, she was fertile.
She put one arm around Rishi, cupping his cheek. Then she kissed him with the practiced fervor of the major character, courtesan to a king.
“We could finish this movie another time,” she whispered. “We could practice what we have seen so far.” She couldn’t remember ever being this bold with Rishi, but they had been married more than a year. Surely this was allowed.
He stood and gathered her in his arms. They kissed hungrily. Somehow she found the remote and stopped the DVD. Somehow they ended up in the bedroom on their bed together, their clothes in wrinkled piles along the way.
She moaned when he fell on top of her and kissed her, bringing her knee between his legs and moving it slowly up and down. She wrapped her arms around him, moving her hips in a